LANSING, MI -- StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee will serve as a keynote speaker at next week's Mackinac Policy Conference, addressing business and political leaders from across Michigan, where her controversial education reform group has quickly become a major player.

"Michelle will continue to drive the discussion about education, making sure that businesses understand the skills gap and the need to drive innovation in our schools if we're really going to have a better business climate and economic output," said Andy Solon, a former state legislative aide who now heads up the Michigan chapter of California-based StudentsFirst.

"I think it's just a tremendous opportunity for us to build our presence in the state, make folks aware of who we are and what we're trying to do and discuss the goals of our organization."

While some attendees may need an introduction -- the group's stated mission is to "ensure great teachers, access to great schools and effective use of public dollars" -- others who attend the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual policy conference may be quite familiar with StudentsFirst, which has devoted considerable time and resources in Michigan as it seeks to reshape public education across the nation.

Rhee, who was born in Ann Arbor but grew up in Ohio, previously served as chancellor of the Washington D.C. public school system, where she earned praise from the likes of U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan but generated backlash by firing several teachers, mostly due to poor student performance. She resigned in October of 2010 and started StudentsFirst the next month.

By the summer of 2011 the group had already spent close to a million dollars in Michigan, lobbying and advertising for a package of bills signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder that included changes to teacher tenure and collective bargaining rules making it easier to fire ineffective teachers. Later in 2011, the group spent thousands in a failed bid to help state Rep. Paul Scott, who sponsored one of the bills, avoid recall.

Last year, StudentsFirst contributed $500,000 in the fight against Proposal 2, a union-backed ballot measure that would have enshrined collective bargaining rights in the Michigan Constitution but potentially overrode many other laws, including the new tenure rules. And this year, the group is promoting legislation that would make student performance a primary factor in determining teacher pay. The House Education Committee approved the measure Wednesday.

Along the way, StudentsFirst hired two former state lawmakers -- including Democratic Rep. Tim Melton of Auburn Hills, who resigned to join the group in late 2011 but has since returned to deliver committee testimony -- and Republican leadership has embraced many of the group's policy initiatives.

"I think we definitely do have positive relationships with the legislature and the governor, and I think they really understand the importance of education," Solon said. "It's a balance in trying to advocate for an education reform agenda, year after year, and recognizing that the legislature has already taken on a number of big issues."

Taking on those big issues -- including support for vouchers and charter schools -- has made Rhee a lightning rod, both nationally and here in Michigan, where critics have questioned her education track record and funding sources while suggesting her efforts could undermine traditional public education models.

Doug Pratt, a spokesperson for the Michigan Education Association, said the union is "very concerned about corporate reformers" such as StudentsFirst, noting that the group recently received an $8 million pledge from the Walton Family Foundation, associated with Wal-Mart, which spent more than $158 million nationally on K-12 education reform in 2012.

"These quote-unquote reforms are untested, unproven and frankly they don't work, which begs the question what they're trying to do here," Pratt said. "The tie that binds this is where the support comes from and who benefits. Charter schools, for-profit entities, cyber school operators, all of these folks are making money off public schools. Michelle's Rhee's agenda is no different."

StudentsFirst does not have an official position on for-profit charter schools, Solon said, but the group generally supports any governance model that "works" for kids, including good public schools. He noted that a foundation run by John Arnold, a major donor to President Barack Obama, has also contributed to the group. The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, run by the Michigan State University graduate and his wife, provided StudentsFirst with seed money.

Rhee has taken heat in recent months due to the publication of a confidential memo suggesting that she knew about -- but did not act on -- evidence of cheating that may have inflated test scores during her tenure as D.C. chancellor.

Although she has denied the allegations and pointed out that subsequent investigations did not uncover widespread wrongdoing, critics say the situation -- along with an unrelated cheating scandal in Atlanta -- speaks to the dangers of emphasizing standardized testing as a means to measure both student and teacher performance.

"If you could summarize their principles, it would be that they double down on high-stakes testing to make high-stakes decisions," Nate Walker, legislative director for the Michigan chapter of the American Teachers Federation, said of StudentsFirst. "From our experience in Michigan, and learning from policies in other states, a reliance on standardized testing can sometimes be harmful to students."

While StudentsFirst has found itself at odds with Michigan teachers unions and more often aligned with Republican lawmakers here, the group maintains that it is motivated by student achievement rather than ideology. And in that capacity, Solon said, it is positioned to play a unique role.

"We use every opportunity to let people know we are pro-union," he said. "They have a role, but that role is in protecting the interest of their employees, teachers. Their mission has never been to protect the interests of student achievement, and that's where we think we can come in."

Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy K. Baruah said that education will be a major theme of this year's Mackinac Policy Conference, which will also include a panel on early childhood education, the link between education and jobs, efforts to turn around Detroit public schools and a keynote address by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who oversaw school reforms in that state.

"The conference is not an echo chamber," he said. "We know that some people don't agree with Michelle Rhee, and that's perfectly okay. We want thought-provoking speakers. Some people think she is a transformative leader, and some people think she is a controversial figure, but everyone agrees she gets people talking."

The Mackinac Policy Conference runs May 29-31. Rhee is scheduled to speak on Thursday at 11 a.m.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter.